Not applicable
This invention relates to electric vehicles
Over one hundred years ago, in a small town near Cologne, Germany, Dr. Nicholas Otto and Gottlieb Daimler built the first successful internal combustion engine. It had one cylinder, and was attached to a bicycle.
Thereafter, many inventors began experimenting with larger engines attached to horse buggies.
In the United States, Henry Ford, Alex Winton, Frank Duryea, Elwood Haynes and others got busy.
By 1910 more vehicles were powered with internal combustion engines than pulled with horses. Henry Ford had much to do with the development of the assembly-line system, that made it possible to produce and sell a motorcar within the means of most American families. Although one had to crank the engine to get it started.
By the early twenties ladies began driving cars. Producers of the more stylish and expensive cars added an electric starter.
Some engines were started with compound-motor-generators. The battery was automatically charged with the same unit.
The same era witnessed the tremendous expansion of the automobile industry. New engines were designed, built and tested. The first electric motorcars and trucks were made. A steam engine powered car was built and made a brief showing. The prime complaint was that it took too long to build-up a head of steam before it could be driven.
In the mid-fifties the Chrysler Corporation built a passenger car with a regenerative, free-turbine engine. This engine could run with a variety of fuels including gasoline, diesel fuel, alcohols, jet fuels and blends.
Regenerative type turbine engines, reduce fuel consumption, exhaust temperature, vibration, noise, toxic emissions and start easily.
However, turbines have one inherent drawback, they perform very efficiently at one rotation speed. At part load or idle condition, the efficiency drops off significantly, below that of internal-combustion engines with their Carnot cycle efficiency limit. About 35%. Acceleration from stop or slow speeds is poor.
The turbine-powered car could not compete with the passenger car built with an internal combustion engine.
Leading automobile companies continue to experiment and build larger versions of the automobile gas turbine for busses, trucks and other heavy duty ground applications in the range of 300 to 600 horsepower. A power transfer system similar to an automatic transmission without torque converter has been developed and used successfully.
In 1997 Toyota, in Japan, introduced a hybrid car powered with an electric motor, gasoline engine system. It operates as an electric car at slow speeds, when air pollution is at the maximum point for gasoline engines. The gasoline engine cuts in when the car accelerates and attains cruising speed. The batteries are recharged while the gasoline engine drives the car.
Chrysler, General Motors and Ford in the USA, Honda and Nissan Motor Co. in Japan and the Audi Division of Volkswagen are also working on hybrid cars. RandD projects planned to improve the internal-combustion-engine continue. It is time to replace the marvel that changed the world over one hundred years ago with a more efficient, non-polluting propulsion system.
Dr. Nicholas Otto and his friend, Gottlieb Daimler will not be forgotten.
The independently powered computer controlled vehicle wheels according to the invention include a turbogenerator, storage battery, a power distribution unit with CPU systems control unit, a power-sensor harness, a separate air conditioner for providing cold, filtered, dehumidified-air for cooling the motor-generators. Floor mounted accelerator and brake pedals and an optional comprehensive instrument panel.
Other features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds especially when viewed with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention.